Man guilty of causing death in head-on smash

A DRIVER killed a grandmother in a “catastrophic” crash at an accident blackspot.

Christopher Taylor ploughed head on into the car of Yvonne Shann after he tr ied to over t ake another vehicle.

Ms Shann, 56, had to be cut free from her Citroen but was seriously injured and died more than a week later in hospital.

The tragedy happened on the rural A816 Lochgilphead to Oban road on December 30, 2015.

Taylor, of Rothesay, was found guilty of causing the death by careless driving.

The 30-year-old will be sentenced next month.

The High Court in Glasgow heard how the crash happened at night on the “twisty and windy” road.

Jurors heard that a driver in front of Taylor “knew something was going to happen” when he went to overtake him. This motorist feared the worst and “held his steering wheel a lot tighter” as Taylor smashed into Ms Shann’s car

he court was told the crash happened in a split second and that “the noise was terrible”.

It was also heard that Ms Shann, who lived in Oban, could have done nothing to avoid being hit.

The mother-of-three died on January 11 at the Royal Alexandra Hospital in Paisley, Renfrewshire.

Taylor, who stayed in Ardrishaig, Argyll, at the time, accepted being r e s p ons i bl e f or t he accident.

In her closing speech to the jury, prosecutor Jane Farquharson said what happened had been a “catastrophic error” by Taylor.

Lord Beckett continued bail and banned Taylor from the road meantime.